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  • You're watching FreeSchool!

  • Everybody knows that some things are alive, and some things are not, but sometimes it

  • can be hard to tell them apart! Let's learn about the features that determine whether

  • something is alive.

  • Living things are called 'organisms.' An organism is any living thing, from elephants to trees.

  • Even the green scum floating on ponds is an organism!

  • First, all living things need some kind of energy, nutrients, or food. This does not

  • mean, however, that all living organisms will eat. Some organisms, like plants, can make

  • their own food.

  • Second, all living things can grow. Living things grow in different ways. Some organisms

  • grow to a specific size and then stop, while others may keep getting larger through their

  • entire life, but all living things can grow and become larger.

  • Third, living things react to changes in their environment. This could be anything from a

  • person using an umbrella to keep dry in the rain to a plant sending its roots deeper into

  • the ground to reach water. To react to change, organisms need to be able to sense when things

  • change. Humans and many other animals have senses like sight, hearing, and touch to help

  • us know when conditions have changed, but even plants have senses that allow them to

  • tell where the light is and which way is up and down.

  • Finally, all living things can reproduce. Whether this means making seeds, having babies,

  • or even just dividing, living things can make more of themselves.

  • Now that you've learned how to tell if something is living or nonliving, let's look at some

  • examples and see if you can tell whether they are living or nonliving.

  • I hope you enjoyed learning about the difference between living and nonliving things today.

  • Goodbye till next time!

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